- US President Trump urged Muslim countries to join Abraham Accords amid Iran talks and conflict escalation
- Trump named Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Pakistan as new potential members despite low chances of acceptance
- Arab states reject normalisation amid Gaza war and Israeli actions, making Trump's plan unrealistic
US President Donald Trump demanded several Muslim countries join the Abraham Accords recognising Israel as part of a deal with Iran, but the plan appears doomed to failure, experts said.
Trump's surprise demand on Monday came at the height of the latest negotiations with Tehran and hours before an American strike on southern Iran piled pressure on a fragile ceasefire.
Trump, apparently eyeing a grand bargain to calm the turbulent Middle East, named five countries that already have relations with Israel along with Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Pakistan -- which are considered highly unlikely to take such a step.
It was unclear whether Trump really believes the countries will join. Analysts said he may be trying to demonstrate support for Israel or seeking a political win to justify an unpopular war.
What Are The Abraham Accords?
Washington brokered the Abraham Accords during Trump's first term, seeking to build bridges between Israel and the Arab world.
The United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco were signatories, establishing diplomatic, economic and security ties. A fourth country, Sudan, is yet to formalise relations.
The present Trump administration has pushed hard to expand the grouping. Non-Arab Kazakhstan -- which already recognised Israel -- agreed to join last November.
What Did Trump Say?
After a conference call with leaders and senior officials from Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the UAE, Trump posted on his Truth Social platform that all eight countries should join the Accords.
"It will be a Document respected like no other that has ever been signed, anywhere in the World," he wrote, calling for the "immediate signing" of Saudi Arabia and Qatar "and everybody else should follow suit".
Why Is It Unrealistic?
Arab sentiment towards Israel's government hardened during the Gaza war, when Israel's military campaign in response to Hamas's October 7, 2023 attacks left more than 70,000 Palestinians dead, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry.
"For most of the states named, the political cost of signing up under current conditions would be prohibitive," H.A. Hellyer, senior fellow at the Royal United Services Institute and Center for American Progress told AFP.
"Gaza is ongoing, annexation of the West Bank is accelerating, Israeli forces remain in southern Lebanon, the Golan is occupied."
Yossi Mekelberg, a Middle East expert at London-based think-tank Chatham House, said it was "no more than a sweetener for Israel, and most likely won't happen".
"Why would these countries reward (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu after so much destruction in the region and to their interests?" he asked.
In 2023, Saudi Arabia was engaged in tentative talks on normalisation, but it abruptly pulled out as the war erupted. It later said it would not recognise Israel without an independent Palestinian state.
"For Saudia Arabia there is no incentive to join the Abraham Accords, in the current circumstances," said Mekelberg.
"If they decide about normalisation, they would like to do it on their own accord, not the Abraham Accords."
Former US diplomat Barbara A. Leaf, assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs under President Joe Biden, told AFP: "I do not expect any of the Arab/Muslim states whose leaders spoke to President Trump on May 23 to move towards normalisation with Israel right now."
What's Behind The Announcement?
Some analysts said Trump may have made the announcement to pacify Israel as he pursues a deal with Iran, its biggest enemy.
He may also be trying to engineer a positive outcome from the war to head off critics at home, they added.
It was "an American attempt to convince Israel and hardline factions within Washington that war, pressure, and escalation have produced political gains worth building upon", Abdulla Banndar Al-Etaibi, assistant professor of International Relations at Qatar University, posted on X.
"The US administration needs a narrative showing that escalation was not meaningless, and that the end result has reshaped the regional environment," he added.
Hellyer speculated whether the announcement was aimed at deliberately halting the deal with Iran, which is opposed by some US allies.
"What is striking is that (the Abraham Accords plan) has any traction in Washington at all," he added.
"That tells you a great deal about how disconnected the DC policy conversation remains from regional political calculus."
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
